Kathryn Budig’s Gratitudasana: Humble Flamingo

Yogis always find a way to extend the month’s gratefulness beyond the edges of our stuffed plates and back onto our mats.

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YogaJournal.com is challenging you to get in the season’s thankful state of mind with gratitude-geared practices all month long. Share yours and tag #yjgratitudechallenge.

November is here and with it, an air of gratitude. We celebrate Thanksgiving at the end of the month, but as yogis, we always find a way to extend that gratefulness beyond the edges of our stuffed plates and back onto our mats. So I’ll be offering two “gratitudasanas” this month for you to chew on, play with, fall out of, and try again.

This first pose was inspired by a series of images I saw floating around on Instagram. It’s an aesthetically gorgeous (and seemingly impossible) take on the traditional pose Parsvottanasana (Intense Side Stretch). This pose is an extreme hamstring opener and forward fold, so I’ve supplied a few poses to help you get there if today isn’t the day.

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Kathryn Budig’s Gratitudasana: Humble Flamingo

I recommend hammering out a solid 5 rounds of Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutations) before giving this one a go. Or simply plug this series of poses into your home practice once you’re nice and warm in your hip flexors, shoulders and hamstrings. I’ve nicknamed this pose Humble Flamingo, but feel free to come up with your own creative takes on it.